If you want to sell more cybersecurity services, risk-based vulnerability management (RBVM) could be your ticket to delivering high-quality outcomes while increasing profitability.
But first things first, what is vulnerability management?
A vulnerability management process periodically identifies, classifies, prioritizes, remediates and mitigates weaknesses in an IT infrastructure.
RBVM takes a traditional vulnerability management program to the next level. Instead of simply reporting vulnerabilities, it also presents the risks with threat context — giving insights into how they may impact a business, and how to prioritize their remediation.
What does effective Risk-Based Vulnerability Management look like?
Risk-based vulnerability management tools use machine learning technologies to analyze vast amounts of data on asset criticality, vulnerability severity and threat actor activities. The insights help you focus on vulnerabilities that pose the highest risks to an organization. Here’s what to look for:
- Real-time visibility: Provide end-to-end visibility into all endpoints and assets and analyze data in real-time to inform timely actions.
- Endpoint performance: Protect all endpoints on or off the network. It should also be a lightweight solution to minimize the impact on device performance.
- Intelligent automation: Leverage the latest AI and machine learning technologies to augment threat hunting and streamline workflows.
- Seamless integration: Integrate with your existing security stack to provide a holistic view of the infrastructure and expedite remediation actions.
How to sell a Risk-Based Vulnerability Management program
Adopting a risk-based approach to threat and vulnerability management is a win-win strategy for an MSP/MSSP and its clients. But how do you convince prospects and customers to jump on board? Here’s how to sell a risk-based vulnerability management program.
Step 1: Communicate the benefits
First, you must help your clients and prospects understand the value of risk-based vulnerability management and why they should invest in your services. Here are some key benefits to share with them:
- Accurate threat assessment: The use of threat intelligence and advanced threat-hunting technology allows companies to make data-driven decisions in almost real-time to protect their critical assets. Your clients can take a proactive approach to stay ahead of threat actors and minimize the risks of critical vulnerabilities.
- Visibility into the entire attack surface: You can’t protect what you can’t see. Risk-based vulnerability management uses advanced technology to establish ongoing visibility into all IT assets, including cloud-based applications and mobile devices.
- Seamless, continuous protection: Unlike legacy software that takes static snapshots of an IT infrastructure, modern risk-based vulnerability management tools monitor the environment continuously. You can detect vulnerabilities as they evolve and adjust your tactics minute-by-minute to maximize protection.
- Cost-efficient workflows: Advanced vulnerability management solutions automate assessment and remediation processes to reduce manual, repetitive tasks. They help reduce costs, improve response time, minimize errors, and allow IT teams to focus on high-value activities.
- Effective employee training: Employee education is essential for enhancing cybersecurity, but covering every potential risk is impossible. By knowing their most critical vulnerability, your clients can target employee training to optimize their defense.
- Enhanced reporting: Advanced vulnerability management systems provide detailed logs and data to help your clients quickly generate reports for various stakeholders, such as IT personnel, C-level executives, board members, and shareholders.
- Lower insurance premium: Detailed reports from a vulnerability management service can provide the information companies need to get qualified for cyber insurance coverage and negotiate a low premium to reduce their IT costs.
Step 2: Show, don’t just tell
After a client or prospect understands the high-level advantages of RBVM, the work isn’t done yet. The best way to close the deal is to help them experience these benefits by making the process tangible and relevant.
Generate a risk assessment report and show prospects how you can improve their security posture within the context of their specific business and IT environments. The insights will allow potential clients to experience first-hand the benefits of such monthly evaluations, and the process will sell itself.
Step 3: Demonstrate continuous progress
The selling isn’t done after a customer signs a contract — client retention is just as important, if not more so, for driving profitability. You must keep “selling” your services by demonstrating the value you bring to the table to increase client retention.
A monthly risk-based evaluation helps you prioritize resources and focus on the most impactful actions to improve a client’s security posture. Moreover, the assessment report demonstrates the progress in improving a client’s security posture and how you help them maximize their ROI.
This monthly communication helps you build trust with your clients. It also opens opportunities to recommend additional cybersecurity products and services most relevant to each customer’s needs so you can deliver better results while driving revenue.
Shortest path to profitability: Vulnerability Management-as-a-Service
A risk-based vulnerability management program gives you the insights to deliver high-quality services cost-effectively. But setting up the monitoring and reporting process requires time, expertise, and upfront investment.
The good news is you don’t have to build your team, set up the processes, and implement the technology from scratch to reap the benefits.
inSOC offers a full vulnerability management solution and threat assessment reporting as part of our SOCaaS packages to help MSPs and MSSPs leverage the power of RBVM to grow their businesses.
Every week, you’ll receive reports for each client showing the top 10 vulnerabilities along with recommendations and step-by-step instructions based on the NIST Cybersecurity Framework to take targeted actions.
The reports show security ratings to help you communicate the severity of security issues and demonstrate month-on-month progress to your clients. Additionally, an experienced certified information systems security professional (CISSP) will guide you through the necessary actions to achieve the best outcomes.
Learn more about our SOCaaS solution including vulnerability management and threat assessment reporting and get in touch to see how we can help you deliver top-notch managed security services to your clients.
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